Page 37 of Pooh

“It’ll be a log home similar to Axel’s. I’ll be his next-door neighbor so things should always be interesting. Mine will sit with my garage next-door to his garage so there is a little space between the actual homes. It may be a mistake to build that close to him, though. He’s already trying to talk me into combining the homes through a secret tunnel so he can hide from Bailey when he’s pissed her off. That’s a no. He’d become a tunnel rat as often as he pisses her off.”

I laugh at the image of Axel hiding out underground to escape the wrath of his woman. Bailey seems to take his craziness in stride and I’m guessing that’s why they work so well.

“How big? Bedrooms? Baths?”

“The plans are for two bedrooms, three baths on the main floor. And then two bedrooms and one bath upstairs. Instead of a dining room, I want a large eat-in kitchen. Nice living room but nothing too big. The basement will be finished off with a rec room with a pool table and television with couches. Maybe even a small bar in the corner. Three car garage that is over-sized for extra room to work on my bikes.”

“When do they get started building?”

“This week, actually. The contractor had a cancellation so they will break ground this week and it should be completed before cold weather. I’m ready to have a home and not live out of a room at the clubhouse. That’s fine when you’re younger but I’m ready to be an adult now, I guess.”

“Tell me about you, Pooh. How did you get in with the Devil’s and why? Do you mind?” I ask.

“Not at all, doll. I’m twenty-nine, almost thirty. I grew up with two parents that preferred booze over their offspring. It made me and Geti grow closer, depending on each other for everything. Her name was Bridget but I always called her Geti as a kid and it stuck. Our parents weren’t abusive physically, they just weren’t present. They both worked but spent each and every evening at their local bar, so we were home alone, a lot. She was two years older than me so a lot of responsibility fell to her. She made sure I made it to and from school every day, helped me with my homework and made sure I ate. She made sure I had clean clothes and she attended anything school related that our parents were too busy to go to. She enrolled me in martial arts and never missed a competition. She was kind of my mom and big sister rolled into one. Once I was a little older, we split the chores and ran the house together.

“God, Pippa, she was so beautiful. I didn’t like a single guy she dated and I was quick to tell her, and them, that. She used to get so mad at me but I worried and she’d forgive me because she knew I did. I used to think she had her shit so together when we were young. I put her on a pedestal never knowing that it just gave her something to fall off of. I didn’t realize until years later how much she gave up to raise me. I was young, dumb and selfish. But she never once complained about missing out on the things her friends got to do and I never thought to insist she go do those things like a normal teenager. I think that’s what I regret the most in life. If she had gotten to do all those stupid things teenage girls get to do, maybe when she did get the chance, she wouldn’t have went off the rails so much. I don’t know. I can’t change anything at this point but that thought is there sometimes, you know?”

“What happened to her, honey?” I ask quietly because I know it was tragic.

“When she graduated, she started waitressing, and chose to stay living at home with me. I was sixteen and I was a handful. After a few scrapes with the law and a few close calls, I graduated and decided the service is where I needed to be. Geti agreed and went with me when I enlisted into the Marines. I still remember the look on her face the day I was shipped out. She was sobbing but there was so much pride shining through that I felt ten feet tall.”

Pooh stops for a moment, takes a swig of beer, stares off into space and continues, but this time in a monotone voice. I can feel him distancing himself and I place my hand on his thigh.

“The first few times I came home on leave, all seemed to be okay. She had moved into an apartment and seemed happy. Then I came home and found she had a boyfriend living with her and he was not someone I wanted in her life. He was not a good man but she thought she was in love with him and wouldn’t listen to me. She thought I just didn’t like him because he was with her, like when we were still in school, and she’d start dating some guy. But it was more than that. I just had this feeling that he would hurt her in the long run. Things were a little strained between us when I was deployed again and her letters and calls started getting less. I had never gone a week without contact with her and suddenly it would be a month or two before I heard from her.”

“My deployment was harder that time, too. We lost several members of our team and things weren’t going well for my unit. We were in the thick of things and I couldn’t always call, text or Skype on a regular basis. When my deployment was finally over and I was back in the States, I couldn’t find her at first. They had moved several times and a friend gave me Rex’s name and said to hit him up and see if he could track them down. That’s how I met the Devil’s. Rex started doing some digging and in the process, I met several of the guys there. Got to know them and I had always had a thing for bikes so we had common ground. Anyway, Rex finally located Geti and it wasn’t good news.”

Stopping for another sip of beer, Pooh leans forward and rests his forearms on his thighs, beer bottle dangling between his legs. His face is blank and his voice is still a monotone. I don’t like that at all so I scoot a little closer and place a hand on his back. He looks at me but his eyes are seeing another face, another time.

“They were living out of a van. A piece of shit van. I didn’t even recognize her. My own sister and I didn’t recognize her. She had wasted away to just skin and bones. Drugs, booze, you name it, and she was hooked on it. He got her hooked and then pimped her out to support their addictions. Rex knew what he was sending me to find, so him and Axel insisted on coming along. Good thing they did, because they stopped me from killing her piece of shit boyfriend. I did enough damage before they pulled me off of him that I was arrested for assault. I had that coming, but Geti wouldn’t even look at me. Broke my heart.”

Pooh stops again and stares at his beer bottle for a moment before finishing.

“The Devil’s bailed me out of jail and I had to report back to the base. I went directly to my commander and explained what happened and he got me emergency leave. By the time I got back to Denver, she was dead. Overdose. Accidental or deliberate, no one knows for sure. Mom and Dad came to the funeral but left immediately after to hit their barstools and I haven’t spoken to them since. Every single member of The Devil’s Angels was at that funeral, at my back though. They were there when my enlistment ended a few months later and they’ve been there every step of the way since. They are my family. They will be until hell freezes over.”

“I’m so sorry that happened to her, honey, but in no way was that your fault. You must know that.”

“I know I could have been a better brother, but I do understand that she made the wrong choices too. It wasn’t all his fault. Or all mine. Doesn’t make it easier to swallow some nights though. I had some dark months but the guys wouldn’t let me lose my way. Trigger actually drug me to a counselor one day and made me sit my ass down and talk. I was a prospect so you do as you’re told and they weren’t shy at telling me what they thought I needed to hear. Best thing for me.”

“I’m glad you had them. Like I had Tammy when I needed her most. Life deals some shitty hands but having people like them in your corner makes it easier to survive the day-to-day,” I whisper.

“Yeah, babe, it does. Now that we’ve shared our sad stories, how about we order some food and talk about Katrena and what’s going to happen with Craig?”

“I have food here. I can…”

“No fucking way am I eating a microwavable meal, doll,” laughs Pooh.

“Some of them aren’t that bad, Pooh. Some of…”

“No. Just no, Pippa. We can run to the store and I’ll cook for us or we can order in but no to the microwave. Unless it’s reheating something or making popcorn, it’s a big, fat no to the microwave.”

Before I can answer, Pooh’s phone rings. He holds up a finger to me to wait a minute and answers.

“Hey, Chubs. What’s up?”

Pooh listens for a moment and then looks at me and grins.

“Yeah, brother, that sounds perfect. We’ll meet you in fifteen minutes. See ya,” Pooh says and then disconnects.

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